Malaysia Airlines is offering a payment to the families of each passenger and crew member who died aboard the MH17 flight.

The families of passengers aboard the MH17 will received a payout of around £2980 Credit: Reuters

In a statement the airlines said they were currently supporting the families and that they had assigned caregivers for each family member to "provide emotional support and assistance."

They said: "In addition, the airline is offering financial assistance of $5,000 (£2,980) to the families of each passenger and craw member. To date, a majority of the families have already received such financial assistance, which will not be part of any compensation that may be payable."

They added: "We have also taken steps to arrange for contractual benefits to which our crew are entitled to be explained and paid to their next of kin, together with a further goodwill payment to help meet the current needs of their families."

The head of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" has stepped down in favour of a native Ukraine in a move regarded as an attempt to defuse claims the pro-Russian rebels are being directed by Moscow.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that rather than helping to stabilise the situation, Moscow's support for Ukrainian separatists continued to grow "in scale and sophistication".

Nato has warned that Russia has put 20,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and could be planning a ground invasion.

Fogh Rasmussen added that Moscow "should not use peace-keeping as an excuse for war-making" and that the shooting down of flight MH17 was a tragic
consequence of its "reckless" policy of supporting the pro-Russian separatists.

Advertisement

A protester sits in front of burning barricades during clashes with pro-government forces at Independence Square in Kiev August 7, 2014. Credit: Reuters

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk have discussed a possible Western alliance support for Ukraine's defence capacity, a Kiev government statement said.

The two men discussed ways in which a proposed NATO trust fund could be used to support Kiev's defence ability in areas including command and control, communications and cyber-defence, the statement also said.

The family of MH17 victim Liam Sweeney - one of two Newcastle United fans killed in last month's plane crash - have said they are "happy and relieved to be getting (him) home" after his body was identified.

Liam Sweeney, 28, died along with fellow Newcastle fan John Alder on the Malaysian Airlines flight on 17 July.

Tributes were paid to Liam Sweeney and John Alder, who were travelling across the world to see their team play during a pre-season tour of New Zealand.

Liam Sweeney's father Barry later called for the bodies of his son and the other victims to be returned to their families in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Today's statement from the family read:

We are happy and relieved to be getting Liam home and hope that we can now move forward.

Our thoughts are with John Alder's family and the families of the other 296 victims.

We would ask that we are given some time and privacy to grieve as a family.